lelliott19
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THE EMPTY SLEEVE
You may talk about the pathos
In the hardships of the war,
You may talk about the glory
Of the cause that you fought for;
But there's nothing so pathetic
As the lesson we receive
From the quiet, idle flapping
Of the useless empty sleeve.
You may talk about the marches,
The scant rations and hard tack;
Of the last drop in the canteen,
And the empty haversack,
There's nothing so convincing
In the impressions that you leave
As the mute and speechless record
Of the useless empty sleeve.
You may speak of southern prisons,
But their horrors could not last;
Of the roar and din of battle,
And, thank God, that too has passed.
But we see the grim reminder,
Every morn and noon and eve,
In the living, speaking presence
Of the useless empty sleeve.
Soldiers deck the graves of comrades
With the laurel that they won,
Poets sing of gallant heroes,
And of deeds of great renown;
But there's naught in poets' anthems
Or the chaplets that they weave
That can beat the touching story
Of the useless empty sleeve.
~ Home and Country.
Source: Union Recorder, June 24, 1890, page 6.
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